Vettaiyan Review…!!!
Both Rajnikanth & director T J Gnanavel have tasted success with their previous films, Jailer & Jai Bhim respectively. Though the later was a direct OTT release, the film received several accolades and recognition globally. T J Gnanavel became one of the most sought-after directors after the film. When the news about their collaboration came out, the expectations went sky high. Everyone wanted to see how T J Gnanavel would present the Superstar on screen. Even the promos hinted that the film is dealing with a very strong and sensitive subject. Above all, Vettaiyan had an ensemble cast of extremely talented artists, like Big B, Fahadh Faasil, Manju Warrier, Rana, Abhirami, Dushara & Ritika.
The film talks about ‘Encounter Killings’, where Rajnikanth plays a super cop, SP Athiyan. He is feared by criminals and gangsters. So, the film gets to begin in the usual commercial style, where he is seen staging a couple of encounters, who finds a strong opposition in the form of Amitabh Bachchan, who is a former DGP as well.

The audience are let to learn about the characters, there are too many to be introduced, while relatively following usual set pieces. He could have trimmed out several of those episodes and directly arrive at the premise. Somehow, a depressing event happens that changes the mood of the film. There is a lot of uproar from the public around the event. We could see how T J Gnanavel delivered those scenes, pretty much realistically like in his previous movie. He sees the public as an important entity in his films. He lets multiple views to emerge from the public side for the story to proceed, just letting the main characters at ease for a moment. This is his strong suit. He can present a subject in a convincing manner, using minimal cinematic elements. The following investigation process and the public assessment of the incident takes forward the first half, until the director decide to throw the protagonist in a complex situation This elevates the conflict of the subject reasonably well.
So, what lets the film down is how the director tried to present the heroic elevation and staging set pieces. It heavily rundowns the film’s commercial aspects. T J Gnanavel should have stayed to his grounded approach in the story telling and added more dramatic elements instead. Even a strong conversation can create a bugger impact, because such was the potential of the subject. If he had placed an Amitabh vs Rajni battle in this context, the drama scenes would have been fierce.

Most of the audience would have expected a contest between the two stalwarts of Indian Cinema. Instead, Big B’s role was so narrow that his character felt entirely futile. So, what was the entire point of casting Amitabh in such a role.?
The second half of the film gets deviated from the main theme to different objectives. The antagonist was introduced so late in the film and the entire premise seemingly shifts from the initial topic. Eventually, the director connected the events together, the premise gets so complex and the screenplay is so cluttered. There are multiple events for the audience to process, in addition to the formulaic elements getting forcefully added. Was there any burden on the director to make a commercial cinema compromising the subject.? It is so sad that Manju Warrier & Rana Daggubati didn’t deserve such under written roles.

Manju is barely visible in this film and she is literally in the film for one scene in the second half. This’ll remind us of a certain scene from Leo, more or less similar to the Telugu film Krack. And similarly, Rana’s character and his incorporation in the story is comparable to Thunivu, which is exactly where the focus shifts to a very different topic.
Despite the commercial flaws, T J Gnanavel’s political ideas are on point here. Like previously mentioned, he wants to discuss a subject from the public’s point of view. There is a scene where a group of human rights activist are trying to educate the people, letting them know that encounter killings are not the way to bring order in a civilised society. But they have to face people’s outrage, overwhelmed by their emotions. It was always known that the director is not going to celebrate the encounter killings. He wanted to bring the subject out for discussion. He wants the public to introspect themselves.

And in the climax scene, there is a scene where a minor character, representing this public, accepts to being misled by their emotions and that the public should also take the blame. The director could have conveyed this topic flawlessly in any other film. But sadly, these episodes do not stand out in Vettaiyan due to the convoluted screenplay and forced commercial elements. The topic loses its steam entirely in the climax when ‘that character’, who is the victim, does not get justice and completely goes sidelined. Yes, a simple apology from hero unsettled the whole scenario and it was just absurd.
The performance of Rajni, as usual was solid. But honestly the film was not supposed to be about a Super cop, instead about an everyday policeman in our society. Rajni could have added a brilliant character in his filmography. Fahadh was lovely in a different avatar. A fun filled character but brilliant on his own. There are a few one-liners that is equally thought provoking and funny.

Coming to the music department, Anirudh wasn’t entirely suited for this genre. He tried his best to paint a mass frenzy picture, but that was not what the story demanded. T J Gnanavel should really go back to his strong zone and give more ground breaking movies. He is one of those rare filmmakers, who understands the socio-political issues of our society. As an end note, Jai Bhim’s ending shot was celebrated and is a result of its accurate representation of the subject. Vettaiyan was deprived of such an execution of the premise.
Overall, ‘Vettaiyan’ has moments but loses the soul of a relevant theme to formulaic commercial approach.